Benefits Administration Letter

This is the second in our series of 2008 Open Season Benefits Administration Letters (BAL). This BAL provides information on how to order the Guide to Federal Benefits (formerly the Guide to Federal Employees Health Benefits Plans).

The Guide to Federal Benefits is the only Federal Benefits Open Season publication agencies must pay for and the only one agencies must order through the Government Printing Office (GPO) Rider. The other materials for the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS), the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program are free of charge to agencies.

Attached is the August 2008 Federal Benefits Open Season Rider. Your agency also should receive the rider through regular printing officer channels. Please note agencies may order the publications on the attached list by riding the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's requisition. Field and regional offices must submit their requirements to their department or agency’s Washington, DC, area headquarters printing office before the September 16, 2008, cutoff date. The headquarters office must submit the consolidated requisitions to the GPO by COB September 16, 2008. In order to provide products to our customers on a timely basis, we will not extend this cutoff date. Guides will be shipped to agency distribution points beginning October 20, 2008.

If you are the headquarters agency Benefits Officer and you do not know which customer service team at GPO is assigned to your agency, please call GPO on (202) 512-0111 or use the following link for information: www.gpo.gov/customerservices/aps.htm.

Note: Field and regional offices with questions regarding submitting requisitions to their agency printing officer should contact their agency headquarters Benefits Officer. Please follow the link for a directory of headquarters level agency benefits officers: http://apps.opm.gov/abo/.

When ordering the Guide to Federal Benefits please consider this useful resource for new employees. The Guide includes important information about an employee’s overall benefit package. Therefore, order an amount sufficient for your new employees, benefit fairs, and ongoing employee needs.

Remember, the 2008 Federal Benefits Open Season for the 2009 plan year runs from Monday, November 10 through Monday, December 8, 2008.

Attachment: August 2008 Federal Benefits Open Season Rider [33.7 KB]

Download this Letter as a PDF File [36.6 KB]

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